Revelations ~ November 2018

This is a monthly column helping us to get to know our friends and members in a deeper way. We thank Monte High for taking the time to do these in-depth interviews for us.
     As Miranda begins to sit still for her portrait, her phone rings. “Do you mind if I take this?” she asks. The phone call is the owner of a downtown property returning Miranda’s call about office space. Though Miranda’s business is not yet ready to make the move, she is preparing for the possible need to upgrade the space of her downtown business location.
     Miranda is a doula. As a doula she works with pregnant women and their partners, helping them get informed and educated about the birthing process – everything from providing information on the different options for childbirth to helping the expectant mother learn how best to care for her body. Miranda listens. She encourages her clients to do what is best for them, encourages them to trust their intuition. She provides emotional support. Her practice is heart-centered – she does a whole lot of intensive listening. She has her client’s back through the entire birthing process, offering support prenatally, during and after the birth such as with breast-feeding. She is there for her clients when they need her. Miranda is always on call.
     Being a doula is Miranda’s life passion – she sees it as changing the world one birth at a time. She feels honored and grateful to help welcome babies into the world, in a peaceful and loving way. “I love it so much that I would do it for free”, she says. And then she catches herself – later today she is headed to Delta to teach a Hypnobabies® class, for free. Hypnobabies® is a childbirth education course using medical grade hypnosis for an easy and comfortable childbirth. Yes, she’s a hypno-doula. Miranda has been practicing for five years, has orchestrated 50 births and worked with 70 couples. Miranda is the owner of Ten Moons Birth. She also works with the GJ Birth Collective. And, she organizes the Birth and Baby Expo for BirthSmart.
     Miranda’s passion for the birthing process began with her own experience of childbirth. When she was pregnant with Jonah Blue, she got on board the traditional baby extracting machine: the doctor knows best. Listen to your doctor. It was much like a typical birth that you see on TV. She squeezed her hubby’s hand real tight, and screamed for 7 hours – on Christmas day, 2009. When Jude Lee came along in 2012, Miranda had practiced hypnosis before the birth. Her labor happened suddenly, and it was an unexpected, unassisted homebirth. Yet, she remained peaceful throughout the two-hour birth, without the screaming pain. Jay Opie came along in 2014. He was born at the Bloomin’ Babies Birth Center. This birth lasted a bit longer, 3 ½ hours – but not quite long enough. Evan was working in Ouray and didn’t make it in time for the birth. Miranda’s best friend Susanna was present to welcome each of Miranda’s children into the world.
     Of course Miranda’s first experience with childbirth was her own birth. Miranda Sue Rice Richardson was born on May 21, 1986 in Glenwood Springs. She has no memories of this event, yet motion-picture- memories are not the only way that the body holds onto experience. Miranda’s dad was a miner so the family moved around a lot in the early years. From Glenwood they packed-up to Parachute and then Mexico (in a camper); Juneau, Alaska; Beatty, Nevada; Twig, Minnesota; Milwaukee, Wisconsin and then back to Colorado – Nucla. Nucla stuck. The family put down roots. Miranda’s mom went into rehab, joined AA and began expanding her heart into the world. Miranda was nine years old when they settled into Nucla, grades 5 through 12. Let the good times roll. Most of Miranda’s childhood memories come from this time in her life moving forward.
     Nucla is a small mountain town out in the middle of somewhere. The population is just over 700. For those who speak of Grand Junction as a rural community, Miranda begs to differ. Nucla is over 100 miles away from a stoplight. Her high school graduation class had 23 students. Because Nucla is an isolated community, Mom made sure that the outside world was included in their culture. Mom wanted her girls to know of the larger, more diverse world – to be accepting, and to appreciate differences in other people.
     Miranda was active in the Congregational Church, especially during her high school years. She enjoyed attending the LaForet MADD Camp during the summer. The camp is run through the Rocky Mountain Conference of the United Church of Christ. It is located in the Black Forest outside of Colorado Springs. MADD camp combines music, art, dance and drama with a wilderness experience. It’s a place where youth can be real and celebrated for who they are as creative children of God. As a MADD camper, you are encouraged to express your own unique style of being. When Miranda turned 17 she was allowed to drive her sister and best friend, Susanna to camp.
     Yes, Miranda has a little sister. Perhaps you’ve heard of her? Mallory is younger by a whopping 18 months (separated by two grades in school). The sisters have always been very close. When the time came for Miranda to choose a post-high school destination, she decided on Grand Junction and Mesa State College (now Colorado Mesa University) because of her best friend Susanna. When Miranda left for college, Mallory would often visit for the weekend, crashing in her dorm room. The next year, Mom and Dad bought a house in Grand Junction as an investment, to help curb the cost of rent while Miranda and Mallory were attending college. The four-bedroom house soon filled up with seven roommates – including Mallory. Mallory moved to Grand Junction to complete her final year of high school, which was also her first year of college. Mallory worked it out so that she could receive high school credits for her university courses. As part of the deal (legalities) Miranda became Mallory’s legal guardian. And the sisters were together again!
     Evan. Miranda met Evan at a college party. The first time she saw him something in her body knew. His nearness ignited something inside of her. Wherever he moved, she was acutely aware of his presence. Miranda experienced a profound connection, a fusing of life-force energy. Eye contact was her obliteration. Evan would later say that he too was powerfully drawn from the beginning, that he knew Miranda was The One. But he is shy, Evan is exceptionally, beautifully shy. Miranda questioned a mutual friend and found out that Evan was interested, so she reached out to him. They had to wait to see each other for a few weeks because Evan was working two jobs at the time. Their first date was the day after Christmas. It was snowing hard. They went bowling, and then watched Happy Feet (a kids movie) at Miranda’s place. Miranda fell in love with Evan that night. They’ve been together ever since. She would later look back at a list that she’d made of the necessary qualities for her ideal man, and wonder, if her list hadn’t somehow conjured Evan out of thin air, because Evan checked off every single item on the list.
     Three months later they eloped over to the courthouse and made it official. Husband and wife – for life. And then it was kind of like, “hey everybody, we’re married, let’s celebrate”. Family and friends put together an impromptu wedding celebration later that evening, and celebrate they did, cake and all. After everyone got over being shocked, that is. Mallory in particular was flabbergasted. “What the What?!”
     Evan and Miranda didn’t waste any time on the putting down roots thing. They got a place of their own shortly after getting hitched, and two years later they bought their first house. Several months later the stork delivered a baby for Christmas.
     “My husband just sent a text that he loves me.” Yes, Evan actually sent the text during her sitting for this newsletter. She gets little reminders all the time. The two of them remain very much in love. Evan is her lover, soulmate, friend and partner. They never fight. Disagree yes, become frustrated, certainly; but, they’ve never shouted at one another. They get along.
     Miranda is a master juggler (she’s been known to put on her jester hat as well). On most days she balances more balls in the air than a Cirque du Soleil Circus performer. That’s her life, “seven jobs, mother of three, four counting my husband, two dogs, four chickens, and a cat”. Every day is a balancing act, an intricate twirling dance.
     In addition to her three doula related jobs, Miranda also works the summer weekend festivals in Telluride, directing traffic. It is like a working vacation because one of the perks is that everything is free, including backstage passes. And the scenery ain’t bad. Telluride is her sanctuary; yet, she’s thinking this past summer may have been the last. Miranda is also a part time administrator at the Koinonia Church. She builds websites. Oh, by the way, she’s also the new administrator for the UUCGV, the glue that holds us all together. Miranda is stepping in to take the place of her sister Mallory, who is leaving to live into her homesteading dream, supplying Colorado farmers markets from her hometown of Nucla. Miranda has been working about five hours a week for the past four years, picking up the slack in the office; so, the administrative transition will be relatively smooth.
     The first time Miranda visited our congregation, way back when, when we were renting a building over on Grand Avenue, the sermon was about “The Dude”. And there were no Bibles anywhere to be seen. Who knew such a thing was possible? It opened her eyes. Miranda appreciates her experience growing up in the Congregational Church. She liked the community and the values it represented; yet, she was unsure about the church’s stance on worshiping Jesus. She felt conflicted about her spiritual path. Over the years, Miranda has gravitated toward a more pagan, earth-based spiritual practice. She is grateful for the Unitarian Universalist faith because you can hold your own truth and still be accepted without judgment. She is grateful that it’s not about professing to have the truth; rather, it’s about listening – the seeking of truth and meaning. She loves the inclusive, welcoming nature of our congregation. She is delighted to see the Rainbow Flag and the Black Lives Matter banner adorning our building.
     Not long ago, Miranda belonged to a small group of women who got together to celebrate the solstices, and a couple times a month to acknowledge the cycles of the moon, of the earth, of human life. They participated in simple rituals, setting goals and holding one another accountable. It was also a social group, an intimate community. They uplifted one another – supported and empowered one another. Sadly, members moved on and the group eventually fizzled out. This is why Miranda started the goddess group that meets at UUCGV, on every fourth Thursday evening of the month. She needed the inspiration.
 
Life flows on…         in endless song…

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